Is My Drywall Chinese? - HB Litigation Conferences

sulfide indefinitely. Some of the residents of homes with Chinese drywall have reported
symptoms including eye/ear/nose/throat irritation, headaches, cough and nausea.
Although these are symptoms associated with chronic low level hydrogen sulfide
exposure, they are extremely non‐specific and, therefore, not sufficient to prove that
chronic exposure is actually occurring.
The human body’s ability to oxidize hydrogen sulfide is believed to be exceeded at
concentrations of 300‐350 ppm. To put this in context, about 50% of individuals can
detect a “rotten egg” smell at a concentration of 0.0047 ppm. The OSHA exposure limit
for an 8 hour time weighted average is 10 ppm or less. Eye irritation occurs at a
concentration of 10 to 20 ppm. Pulmonary edema occurs at 320 to 530 ppm. Inhalation
of a single breath of concentrations above 1000 ppm can cause death by respiratory
failure. Although high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide can be lethal, information
concerning long term health consequences of chronic low level exposures is
inconclusive. A 1995 study of Russian and Finnish pulp and paper workers exposed to
chronic low level concentrations of hydrogen sulfide demonstrated increases in
miscarriages and reproductive health issues but the findings have not been replicated.
Whether Chinese drywall is producing hydrogen sulfide or other byproducts toxic to
humans in sufficient concentrations to cause personal injuries, and what injuries can be
reasonably attributed to the exposure are issues of general causation particularly suited
for resolution by an MDL. However, the non‐specific character of the claimed personal
injuries will create numerous plaintiff specific causation issues related to the “dose”
experienced by a particular plaintiff and alternate risk factors which will require
individualized trials.
Settlement Promoting resolution of litigation through settlement was a goal of all
past MDLs and there is no reason to believe that this will not be a primary goal of the
drywall MDL. After resolution of the common issues and possibly an initial series of
individual trials so that the parties have a greater understanding of likely future results,
active involvement by the MDL in attempting to resolve cases through settlement
should be expected.